Bushkill Inn and Conference Center poised for its first peak season

Bring on the Summer

Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau held its annual Tourism Day for the first time at Bushkill Inn and Conference Center on May 15, a Wednesday in which the hallway for the guest rooms on the third floor right below was bustling with every room booked.

Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau held its annual Tourism Day for the first time at Bushkill Inn and Conference Center on May 15, a Wednesday in which the hallway for the guest rooms on the third floor right below was bustling with every room booked.

It was a fortuitous coincidence for leaving a favorable first impression on a day that normally is light on bookings around the Poconos.

Heavy weekday bookings are uncommon and a goal for inn General Manager Roger Taylor, who has had a successful run since resurrecting the former Pocmont Inn on Aug. 15. With the busiest season of the year starting up this weekend, Taylor said early this week 60 percent of the rooms were reserved and he expects it to rise beyond

75 percent with last-minute bookings.

"The summer season will be a crucial season for us as it is for most hotels in this marketplace. We're optimistic," Taylor said. "We think it will be good. Weekends are very strong."

He said winter weekends with skiing in the area "was very strong as well as Christmas and New Year's but mid-week was very soft."

To that end, the inn retained a marketing arm in April in the heart of what Taylor calls the "mud season," the slowest period from March to May.

Taylor knows things can take an unexpectedly favorable turn as he found on the Tourism Day event. He saw that when his 26 cottages on the grounds were remodeled on the outside but no work was done inside going into March, only weeks before the peak season. Work began on March 6 to replace carpeting, put up new wallpaper and order and install custom designed furniture. By May 24, that project was completed.

"In my 25 years in this business, I never had a project done like that," Taylor said. "It was special."

The contemporary but cozy cottages include 16 king (bed size) jacuzzi suites and 10 king rooms.

Taylor hopes that will elevate his rating in Trip Advisor from 4 1/2 stars to the five-star rating it had last fall on Trip Advisor, which Taylor said made it the highest rated lodging establishment in the Poconos. A high rating on Trip Advisor, an online platform of information and ideas and reviews exchanged in a forum for users, can enhance a business.

Taylor said the biggest parts of the million-dollar renovation are done for the inn. It was once valued at $8.23 million when it was run by the Artzt family for 63 years before closing in 2009 and purchased for $2 million by eight partners, well below the $3.5 projected price when it was put on auction in 2011.

"From the physical point of view, the total renovation has fulfilled my vision," Taylor said. "From a marketing point of view, we made a miscalculation thinking we'd attract couples and singles from the major metropolitan areas. The marketplace has proven to be partly that, but primarily it's a family destination resort. We need to concentrate on that."

The indoor pool has been opened through the winter season and the outdoor pool will open either this weekend or next weekend, depending on the temperatures. "It's been a little cool. We were wearing sweatshirts outside a few nights ago," Taylor said. Both pools are for inn guests only.

There are eight weddings booked into October and a quinceanera, a Sweet 15 party celebrated in the Spanish culture, that will utilize the banquet hall reserved for those large group events.

But for weekdays, the inn is looking to increase its weekday business with conference bookings and has weekday package specials. It had "about a dozen the past three months," Taylor said, including the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators. It placed ads in meeting planner magazines that drew "a couple of responses."

The inn also wants guests encouraged to extend their stays an extra day or two, which was a theme resonating for all hotels and resorts at the PMVB Tourism Day event.

There are plenty of offerings to enhance both objectives, including for business conferences a large theater for PowerPoint presentations, conference rooms and a restaurant. The Steakhouse was converted to a casual bistro open primarily on days of heavy bookings.

And there are other amenities to enhance the conferences. The redesigned shuffleboard area across Bushkill Falls Road from the inn, is conspicuous to motorists with its bright blue color. There also is a softball field, volleyball court, archery range, horseshoe area, miniature golf, paddle boats on the lake on the grounds and children's playground area. Following the trend that continues to gain popularity, there are three cleared hiking trails — one around the lake and two longer ones. "That's become really big," said Taylor of hiking.

Residents also have been welcome to the restaurant during operating hours from noon to 9 p.m. on Thursday through Sunday evenings except when the hotel is fully booked. When that happens, they are welcome to order from the lounge area that has table seating. Residents can check ahead at 431-5200.

"We've had several repeat local guests coming into the lounge during weekends," Taylor said. "It's become a challenge to satisfy the public demand for the restaurant."

If there is full occupancy on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, the bistro is open. If not, guests also can order food, when the bistro is closed, at the lounge tables from the kitchen.

Taylor said that Bushkill Inn and Conference Center is getting more recognition. And so is he as he travels through the area.

"Awareness is very good," Taylor said. "The biggest problem (for travelers) is when they go past Fernwood into the Delaware Water Gap (National Recreation Area), they think they're going into a state park. They don't realize there is a resort here."

But as the resort establishes its market and reputation, Taylor aims for the Bushkill Inn to flourish as a destination resort.